I’m back! Its been a busy couple of weeks at school with the end of the trimester and lots of sick students right before finals! A few weeks ago, I shared the first floor of our house with you to show you how installing hardwoods will affect a lot of other things. One of those things is our staircase. It is currently stained cherry, and our floors will not be cherry. So today I’m sharing some stair inspiration. I have no idea what is realistic as far as cost. I’m guessing painting what we already have is the only option, but I’ll share everything I like just in case 🙂

Here are some gorgeous staircases that would require starting over:

Sometimes I’m bummed that we will probably have to work with what we have, but then I see this, and I think its actually the best option:

Our stairs are like this where you don’t see the sides of each stair. This blog also makes the process not seem that bad

I know a few people who have had their banisters painted, and it cost a few thousand dollars. We would probably try to do it ourselves over time to save money. Right now we are really struggling with what to do first and when to get started. I think once I feel like we have picked out the wood (I’m really struggling with pulling the trigger on something I like because I don’t feel like I’ve explored every option) and tile for the bathroom and fireplace, we will be able to come up with a viable plan to get this project started. What do you think about the stairs? Do you like black and white staircases? I really do. I would do ours like the ones I have pictured – hand rail black, bottom piece black, all of the newel posts black, and only the balusters would be white. I’d love to know your thoughts!

Jalene